My eyes peeled over Alpha Orion's shoulder, watching every move of the rouges that stood in front of us. Even though their leaders had left a few moments ago, their ranks still stayed, staring right back at us in an uneasy manner. Alpha let out a deep and guttural growl, his whole body rumbling beneath me, a warning sent to all.

When they finally turned and began to follow out, I sighed and buried my head between Alpha Orion's shoulder blades. My knees were still weak and shaking, unable to withstand any of my body weight. My arms were barely able to endure any movement, my muscles were quivering so much that my brain could barely command them to move. With great effort, I managed to hook one arm around Alpha's neck, leaning into him so that he was holding my weight, as I was unable to.

We all stood there, listening to the sound of his growl resonate through the trees, as if nature wanted his command to be heard by all who could hear. Our warriors made sure that they had all crossed over the line, ensuring they had left the territory, before returning back and letting Alpha know.

"Thank you." His voice vibrated his chest, sending the buzzing feeling through my cheek and face. "Please return back to your post, if you are free from your post, check over the pack. Make sure everyone is safe and no one is missing. Check for rouges as well, they may have snuck through while we were here."

They turned and left, leaving just the two of alone. His hand was still grasping my own, his strong and nimble were weaved within my own tightly. I could feel the power that was rippling underneath his skin, his large hand engulfing my own. His thumb had been rubbing the top of my hand, something I hadn't noticed until now. Sparks were erupting between our hands, shooting through my arm with every stroke of his finger.

He then began to move his arm, bringing my own with him. I yelped when something soft and warm brushed against the back of my hand. The sound that escaped my mouth was muffled by the muscles in his back. His lips brushed softly against my skin, the Sparks getting strong and more frequent than before.

"Calm down." His spoke gently, my hand still against his mouth. "Are you alright?" I could feel every movement of his lips, like silk moving across my skin. His warm breath heated up my skin, bringing it back to like against the bitter cold. I nodded against his back, not trusting my voice. I knew it would shake or crack if I tried to speak.

"No, you are not." He protested against my nonverbal response. "I could feel you shaking the whole time. You still are."

"I'm sorry." I blurted out, quiet loudly may I add, after being caught in my lie. That was very disrespectful of me, lying blatantly to the Alpha to his face. I deserved punishment. His lips planted themselves once more to the back of my hand before pulling my arm from his neck. I knew it was coming when he turned and stares directly into my eyes. His hand was now holding me hostage against him, keeping me planted so that he may enforce any punishment he deemed necessary.

His other hand came up towards my face and I closed my eyes, waiting for harsh contact to come. I flinched when his fingers ran across my skin, soothing it before he turned it into pain as he struck me hard. Though, his hand never left, never pulled back to hit me. His long fingers ran back to my ear as he pressed his hand against my cheek, thumb beneath my chin. With my eyes still closed, he pulled my head so that it was tilted up towards his. His other arm wrapped around my waist, a large, open hand pressing against the small of my back. My body was once again plastered against his and I opened my eyes in shock. My eyes met his and I shuddered, yet not in fear.

His face lowered to mine, his bright green eyes getting closer and closer to my own. I had never seen his eyes this close up before. Specks of different shades ran all though his eye, lighter towards the inside and then fading to darker shades towards the outside. They both lit up brighter as a smile formed on his mouth, a dimple appearing on the left of his face.

"I'm not made at you for lying." My cheeks burned as his face came closer and at the fact that I was caught. "You know you can tell me the truth, right? It's okay to be scared." I turned my gaze downwards, the strings of his hoodie were suddenly the most interesting thing around me.

"No, it's not." I whispered. I through back to that that they had thrown at me. How I was one of the many that cowards at his feet and did what ever please him.

"Look at me." His thumb rubbed my cheek encouraging and I slowly peeled my eyes back up to his. "Even the best of us fall at some point. All of us are afraid of something."

"Really?" I asked. Alpha Pierce has told me for years that it was never okay for an Alpha to fall to their knees for something, to be scared of anything.

"Of course I am."

"What are you afraid of?" I whispered.

He stared into my eyes for a few moments and then slowly moved across my face. His hand that was once resting on my cheek now moved to my hair, gently pulling my fave against his chest. My ear rested over his heart, the hard, erratic beats thrummed against my ear. His hands stroked through my hair and his faced lowered next to mine.

"You." His whispered into my hair. "I'm afraid of loosing you." My heart swelled as his words registered in my mind. The pull between us felt stronger after he uttered those words and I felt as if I could get close enough to him. Slowly, I pulled my face away from his chest, looking back up into his eyes.

My hands that were holding into his shoulders seemed to move on their own, gently moving towards the back of my neck. My body rose from the ground as I stood on the tip of my toes, my chest leaning against his. One of his hands smoothly rubbed down my back and planted it at the bottom of my spine once more. One of mine moved up his neck, able to feel the goosebumps that had risen from his skin, and then tangled into his obsidian hair. Gently pulling his head down, he obliged and followed where my hands wanted him to go. Leaning into him a bit more, I stood taller and I pressed my lips to his.

The kiss was soft and sweet with an underlining passion that I didn't really know that we shared. The sparks that exploded between us were impossible to ignore, such a powerful force the mate bond was, to be recon with. We both pulled back from the kiss slowly. When I opened my eyes, that I didn't even know that had closed, I noticed that his had already opened. He was staring at me with a wide, joyful grin on his face that sent butterflies through the stomach.

"Let's go home." Alpha bent down and grasped the back of of legs, lifting me and held me against him. I squeaked out of surprise and wrapped my arms and legs around him. He bellowed out a loud laugh and began walking.

❤️